Winning Spirit Magazine July - August 2013 July - August 2013 | Page 12

The Ford Racing School at Miller Motorsports Park
had some distinguished students on May 20 and
21, as six of Ford’s NASCAR drivers took part in a
two-day program to sharpen their road-racing skills.
NASCAR Sprint Cup drivers Aric Almirola (No. 43
Richard Petty Motorsports), Ricky Stenhouse, Jr.
(No. 17 Roush Fenway Racing), Trevor Bayne (No. 21
Wood Brothers Racing) and NASCAR Nationwide
Series drivers Ryan Blaney (No. 22 Penske Racing),
Chris Buescher (No. 16 Roush Fenway Racing) and
Travis Pastrana (No. 60 Roush Fenway Racing)
took part in the training session, which included
classroom time, skid car training and on-track
instruction. Ford Racing also brought two guest
instructors, Jack Roush Jr. and Billy Johnson, who
race for Ford in the Grand-Am Continental Tires
Sports Car Challenge Series.
The NASCAR Sprint Cup Series has two road-course
races on its annual schedule and the Nationwide
Series has three, making road-course training vital
for these young drivers who are mostly accustomed
to racing on ovals.
“We are proud that the Ford Racing School enjoys
the kind of reputation in the industry that would
prompt Ford Racing to bring their promising young
NASCAR drivers to train with us,” said John Larson,
general manager of Miller Performance. “Ford has
been a great partner for us since the track opened
in 2006. We’ve had some terrific joint ventures
with them so far, including the creation of the Ford
Mustang FR500S, the Boss Track Attack program
and the Raptor Assault program, and there are
some very exciting things in the pipeline that will be
happening over the next couple of years.”
“The entire Miller Performance team is outstanding,”
said Andy Slankard, NASCAR operations manager
for Ford Racing. “This was just a great event. Every
aspect, from the facility and hospitality to the
instruction and car preparation, was first-class.
Most importantly, the drivers got a lot out of the
experience. I am sure the exercise will transform into
performance at their ‘day jobs.’”
While at Miller Motorsports Park, the Ford Racing
NASCAR drivers also took time to visit the Larry H.
Miller Total Performance Museum where they were
able to see many of the most legendary cars in the
history of Ford Racing, including the world’s only
collection of each of the five different variants of the
legendary Ford GT40.
For more information on the variety of training
programs available through Miller Performance,
visit the track’s website: MillerMotorsportsPark.com. WS
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